FEELING BLUE, AND THAT’S GOOD – Dan Wolf, president of Cape Air and Cape and Islands state Senator, offered his help to bring JetBlue to Hyannis.

Wolf offers help as operator and state Senator

It seems that New York is suddenly on everyone’s radar at Barnstable Municipal Airport, with plans for seasonal direct flights, possible scheduled jet service and an offer to help land Jet Blue.

Cape Air will introduce a direct service to White Plains, NY this summer, similar to services it’s provided from Nantucket and Provincetown.

Cape Air President Dan Wolf said that he was pleased to bring the service, but also understood that it would come at higher rates.

“The pricing is not at the pricing of a discount airline,” Wolf said.

But Wolf took it a step further. In his role as state senator for the Cape and Islands, he offered to help in any way to work toward getting Jet Blue to Barnstable.

The idea is actually far from new, as regional service to New York has been offered in the past out of Barnstable. At present, there are seasonal flights on JetBlue out of Martha’s Vineyard. Wolf believes a good case can be made to bring the company to the Hyannis facility. Cape Air is JetBlue’s ground partner for baggage and ticketing.

Earlier in the meeting, Airport Manager Bud Breault said that the airport would need to put together a proposal for airlines to consider locating in Hyannis.

He and the commissioners talked about the possibility of seeking an audience with airlines at some upcoming trade shows.

Wolf said he’d rather see some of the money the airport would consider spending on consultants used to offer some sort of guarantee to JetBlue “to limit their risk.”

“See if you can parse together some commitment, even if it's symbolic,” Wolf said, “rather than give them the standard package.”

Wolf has been working with the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority on issues around the canal bridge and taking pressure off roads.

“Being able to get more people here in the air is really an improvement in transportation to and from the region,” Wolf said.

In many instances, he said it’s not what’s being said, but whom it’s being said to. As its first domestic air partner, Cape Air has been handling JetBlue passengers and ground support for a few years. Wolf said that he has a good personal relationship with JetBlue’s president.

“I think it will permanently change the seasonal fabric here on the Cape,” Wolf said.

The greatest challenge is something that he has some experience with as an operator.

“Speaking as someone with 30 years of experience at this airport, the main issue would be noise,” Wolf said.

“I think we can make a compelling case,” Wolf told the commission, which was receptive to the notion.

Commissioner John Griffin, who said he’s been hanging around the airport since he was very little, said, “I remember the service we had when I was a kid. You could get places from here.”

Also at the meeting, Phil Geraci of Rectrix updated the commission on the company’s recent acquisition of a fixed base operator facility at Westover, and its FBS service at Worcester, which is operated by MASSPORT.

Rectrix is also looking to expand its route structure, to possibly include New York. Rectrix is looking to get into LaGuardia. Geraci said that there was an attempt to make that happen last summer, but it required more time.